Ornamental Iron c. 1936

This is Gilbert Sackerman’s “Ornamental Iron”, made with watercolour on paper. I love how the washes of colour build up these subtle layers. You know, watercolour’s a funny thing - it can be so delicate, but it also requires a certain decisiveness, doesn’t it? The paper peeks through here and there, giving the whole piece this airy quality. Look at the way he’s rendered the ironwork, how the green almost vibrates against the peach brick. It's so simple! And then these splashes of flowers, like they're about to spill right out of the frame. I find myself looking at the tiny bird perched on the ironwork, and imagine Sackerman finding that same bird on the day that he painted the piece. It reminds me a bit of Charles Burchfield, who also found so much poetry in the everyday. But Sackerman brings his own quiet, quirky vision. Ultimately, it’s not just a depiction of a building; it’s a feeling. It's a moment captured.